Growing up, I always thought it ironic that Laura had a
lovely and refined name but she had selected the most old-fashioned old-lady
names for her own girls: Minnie, Pearl,
Floral, Leota, and Elta. On reflection,
those were probably cutting edge names in their day while “Laura” had assumed
the title of “old fashioned.”

They must have been a fun bunch, judging by the number of
photos my grandfather and his sisters had from their younger days spent with their cousins.

Unknown gentlemen
outside the Sullivan gate
1924

While there seemed to be lots of men calling at the
Sullivan house, Floral did not marry until late in life. She completed four years of high school and
achieved success as an assistant cashier and later THE cashier for the local
bank in Shenandoah, Virginia.

Sometime between 1940 and 1954, Floral married Cletus
Homer Merica (now THAT’s a name!). Those
dates are based on the 1940 census when she was single and living at home and a 1954 city directory for Alexandria, Virginia, in which she appears as “Floral S.
Merica” alongside Cletus H.

There were no children, and Floral outlived her husband. She died in a nursing home in
Chesapeake. My guess is that this was
most convenient for her only living sister and survivor, Elta Sullivan Farrar.

Old Lady names...LOL...especially since Minnie and Pearl are names of women in my Family Tree. No Floral's though except for Rose and Lily! I wonder why William and Laural named her Floral May and not just Flora..without the 'l'. Couldn't have been that she was born in May and they had so many girls they ran out of Old Lady names!Sue CollectInTexasGalAtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee

Wendy, you and the others who are doing the April A-Z challenge amaze me. I think it's hard work to compose the FH Alphabet challenge posts every week; I can't imagine doing the alphabet every day! Congrats to you for doing such a great job with it.

Floral is such an unusual name. I don't believe I've ever heard the word used as a name before. The photo of the 3 girls is adorable and the photo of the 5 sisters is even better. Can you imagine all the chatter that might have happened during a get-together like that, especially if they were talkative and in the mood to reminisce?

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net